Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

The far Left is wailing and gnashing teeth over the Supreme Court's mystifying decision equating a corporation's political free speech rights to an individual's. My friends on the Left are gnawing their fingernails over the prospect of corporations spending millions to defeat an elected official who dares to cross the corporation.

They fret that after one or two politicians are picked off by the vengeful corporation, others will fold like a cheap suit, toward the will of rapacious corporate interests.

Not so fast.

If the Supremes had issued this goofball ruling in 1975, that might have been the case. Back then, we had three networks, along with three strong local stations affiliates, and we had a local newspaper. Their advertising rates were so expensive only corporations could afford these primary ways of communicating with voters.

But today, the Internet has vaporized that barrier to the entrance of the town square. Look no farther than Obama campaign manager David Plouffe's fine book, "The Audacity to Win." In writing about the campaign's communication strategy, Plouffe rarely mentions TV advertising without also underscoring the importance of YouTube and social media to Obama's success.

Anybody with a broadband connection and something to say can generate an equal and opposite reaction to corporate expenditures attempting to take down an errant officeholder.

But more important, it's unlikely that we'll see corporations spending millions of dollars to oust offending politicians simply because the risks far outweigh the rewards. Sure, millions in TV advertising by a company could result in some feckless politician losing an election.

But let's remember - corporations never win popularity contests with voters. After the bank bailout, executive compensation and million-dollar bonuses on Wall Street, corporate America is more unpopular than ever. Let's face it - many corporations are remarkably ham-fisted when it comes to the intersection of business and politics.

In some respects, being attacked by a corporation could be the best thing that could happen to a candidate.